PAULDING COUNTY, Ohio — A woman suing Paulding Schools alleges that the district discriminated against her because she is transgender when she was terminated from her job as a bus driver two years ago.
Bobbi Shaffer, who also is suing the Maumee hall of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, filed the lawsuit Friday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court after she was fired from that position on Jan. 11, 2022.
In the lawsuit, Shaffer claims her termination from the district was sudden and that it was because her commercial driving license had been suspended. But her CDL had not been suspended, she said.
Shaffer claims "similarly situated, cisgender employees were treated more favorably, and were not terminated over the same issues" and that prior to her termination she was also "questioned about makeup and nail polish, which had no relevance or effect on her job performance," according to the lawsuit.
Shaffer also alleges the OAPSE Local 4 union declined to file a grievance on her behalf or "take any affirmative steps" to represent her.
"(Shaffer) has suffered the loss of her employment, past and future wages and benefits, diminished earning capacity, professional damage, and great mental and emotional stress, anxiety, humiliation, and embarrassment," the lawsuit states.
In a different lawsuit, Shaffer sued Defiance and two police officers after she was arrested for an OVI in 2021 while working as a DoorDash driver, but those charges were dismissed. She believes the person who called 911 targeted her because she is transgender.
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